


Stuck

by secretsofthesky



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23724526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsofthesky/pseuds/secretsofthesky
Summary: Betty asks her neighbor for help with a tricky zipper.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 6
Kudos: 106





	Stuck

* * *

Betty was stuck.

_ Literally. _

Falling backward onto her bed and trying desperately to catch her breath, she sent a curse up into the universe, aimed at her best friend who was most likely still dancing away without a care in the world at the Valentine’s Day party Betty had managed to escape from half an hour earlier.

After her labored breathing from the impromptu cardio workout she'd just had while trying to get her dress unzipped finally started to even out, she sat up and stared at herself in the mirror pathetically. 

She should have never let Veronica talk her into the party in the first place let alone somehow convince her to sport the far too form-fitting hot pink dress with the extraordinary inconvenient zipper up the back that required a person to either have abnormally long arms or an extra set of hands to work it. 

Not that that would have been a problem normally though. If Betty was anything it was resourceful, but after trying a particular trick with a coat hanger, she realized that in her frustration she must have jammed the zipper because it just wouldn’t budge. 

So the way she saw it - she basically had three options. 

One, she could cut the damn thing off - something she would have done already if it wasn't on loan from her best friend and had probably cost more than six months rent.

Two, she could drive all the way back across town to pull Veronica from the party, have her unjam it, and then walk out with a half-opened dress and drive back home.

_ Or _ ... she could ask her neighbor to help her out.

To be honest, neither the idea of tearing up a disgustingly expensive dress or flashing anyone who may catch a glimpse of her after having Veronica undo it for her at the party made her stomach flip the way the idea of walking across the hall and knocking on Jugheads door did.

It wasn’t as if they were strangers. They had actually had several run-ins and conversations since he moved in. A few - that she would admit - had been staged when she had heard him leaving his apartment and had quickly made her way into the hall to  _ accidentally  _ come face to face with him. 

She wasn’t ashamed of it either. He did have  _ quite _ the face. 

_...and body, _ she thought with a small smile. Though, despite his stellar eyes, panty-dropping smile, and hair that begged a girl to run her fingers through it, that all,  _ surprisingly _ , came second to his personality. They had both made themselves late to work from getting lost in conversation on a couple of occasions, just standing there between their apartments and losing track of time. Though much to her dismay, he had never offered to continue their conversations over coffee, or dinner, or in bed after they fucked each other senseless. 

Standing from her bed and squaring her shoulders, she marched to her door and opened it, taking a deep breath before crossing the hall and raising her hand to knock on his door. 

It wasn’t as if she was asking him to strip it right of her, she told herself and her stomach flipped when she heard shuffling from in his apartment. She just needed him to unjam it, maybe tug it down an inch or two so she could reach the zipper when she got back to her apartment. That was it. There was nothing sexual about it. In fact, she was going to wipe any kind of sexual thoughts about him from her brain and save them for another day. Totally doable. Platonic thoughts. Just a friend helping out a friend. 

She kept chanting that thought in her head as the door slowly opened to reveal the man in question, and then the thought quickly disappeared from her mind along with everything else other than how good he looked. 

His eyes met hers, his lips starting to form a curious smile before it froze halfway - his eyes widening as they traveled down her body. Slowly, so treacherously slowly, they moved over every inch of her, locking onto her bare legs for a while before making their way back up.

His eyes were fire when they finally locked with hers and sent her body up in flames. Platonic? How was she supposed to keep her thoughts platonic when he nearly undid her with just a look and all she could think about was how she needed his hands and mouth to follow the path his eyes just took? 

“Hey-” he started, his voice slightly off and causing him to clear his throat again. A hand came up to tug at his unruly hair. “You look - I -  _ wow _ .”

His words and the way his cheeks tinted after he spoke them pierced through her carnal thoughts and brought a small smile to her lips, her heart beginning to thump for an entirely different reason. 

His fumbled compliment that was finished on a whisper was more sincere than any of the expertly delivered pick up lines she’d heard from men that night and had the fluttering in her stomach intensifying. 

Maybe she didn’t _ completely _ regret the dress. 

“Thank you.” She bit at her lip and looked down to her heels before bringing her eyes to meet his again. Well, this was it. “I need your help.” 

Jughead - seeming to still be a bit off balance and she loved the idea that it was her that made him that way - blinked a couple of times before focusing on her. “My help?”

Betty nodded. “I’m having a bit of a clothing malfunction.”

His hand found his hair again, tugging at it nervously as his eyes moved down her body. “You look good to me. I mean the dress. The  _ dress _ looks good. No malfunctions. Not that  _ you _ don’t look good in the dress-” he stopped with a curse. 

Her stomach fluttered again. “My zipper is stuck.” 

He swallowed again. “Your zipper?”

“My friend had to help me get into it and I thought I would be able to get out fine on my own but I think I jammed the zipper trying. It’s way too tight to pull over my head, so I was hoping rather than cutting it off or driving across the city to ask for her help, that maybe you could help me unjam it? You’re the only person in this building that I know.” She spun and pointed to the zipper that ran from the bottom of the dress to the top of her back. “Just a little and I’ll be able to get the rest.” 

When she spun back to face him, his eyes had grown darker. “I -”

When his words trailed off and silence fell over them, her cheeks began to heat. “You don’t have to. I’m sorry, I know it’s a weird favor,” she managed a nervous chuckle. “I can just drive across town, it’s no big -”

“Betty.”

Betty’s eyes lifted to his when her name fell from his lips. “Yeah?”

“Turn around.” 

She did as he asked, reaching around to pull her hair to the side slowly as she felt him step up behind her. 

“Is there a trick to it?” his voice was low, barely a whisper, the heat from his body surrounding her, his hot breath tickling her bare shoulder. 

She found herself swallowing now, her blood humming beneath her skin. “No trick.” she breathed. “It just needs a good hard tug probably.”

His breath was heavy as he took one more step and slowly raised his hands. His fingers grazed her skin as he gripped material next to the zipper with one hand and attempted to pull on it with the other.

“It’s jammed pretty good.”

Betty chewed her inner cheek as she felt him attempt to pull it again, harder this time, but still, it didn’t budge. 

“Don’t be afraid to just yank it. If it breaks it can be replaced, no problem.” 

Jughead chuckled behind her and the sound sent goosebumps dancing over her skin. “I’m just afraid if I yank it and it breaks free, the force of the pull is going to unzip more than just a few inches.” 

Betty swallowed. “It’s okay if it does.”

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” 

It only took two hard tugs before she heard it pop and her sleeves fell down her arms instantly as the dress parted. 

“Thank god!” Betty grinned, grabbing the material to hold to her chest before spinning around. “Thank you so much.” 

Jughead instantly stepped back, rubbing his palms against his jeans as he looked everywhere but her. “Glad I could help.”

“I appreciate it,” she told him. “Anytime I can return the favor, just let me know.” 

His eyes found hers then, growing slightly, an eyebrow cocking as his lips tipped upwards. “Did you just offer to help me out of my clothes?”

Betty’s lips parted in shock before a laugh slipped out. “Yes, yes I apparently did.” her cheeks heated. “I just meant anytime you need a favor…” 

“-so are you retracting that  _ specific _ favor?” 

Betty’s eyes narrowed as she watched his expression change. He was flirting with her. She had thought she’d picked up on it before during their run-ins but this time she was sure. So why hadn’t he made a move? “Not at all.” 

His smile was brilliant. “I’ll keep that in mind then.” His hands dove into his pockets as he took a step back into his apartment. “I guess I will let you get changed.” 

Betty nodded, stepping towards her own door. “Thank you again for helping me.” She moved to close her apartment door but turned and called his name before she could overthink the next words coming out of her mouth. “You know you could have been helping me out of my dress in an entirely different scenario if you would’ve just asked me out already.” 

Jughead’s eyes flew to hers. “Is that so?” he asked, leaning a shoulder against his door jam. 

Betty shrugged. “I mean, if you weren’t doing anything tonight and wanted to come over for some pizza and a movie, there’s also a good chance you might be able to cash in that favor I owe you, too.” 

They stood there for a moment, gazes locked, neither moving or saying a word. For a moment, she wondered if she had read him all wrong - that maybe he wasn’t interested after all - but when his tongue slipped out to run over his lips before they tugged up into a grin - she knew she hadn’t at all. 

“I’ll order the pizza.” 

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @secretsofthesky


End file.
